John Leonidou

Formerly known as Ward & Partners, Wards – part of the Arun Estates Group – has just undergone a rigorous rebranding and marches into 2019 with an air of renewed confidence.

When Wards Group managing director David Lench happened to meet the new boss of his former employee in early 2018, he was hammered with a few home truths about his business that left him pondering whether to ignore them or take heed.

He decided to choose the latter.

Steve Howard is the CEO of FINALLY - a strategic, creative and marketing team based in Canterbury - and it was he who ultimately convinced David that the time had come to make some radical but equally necessary changes to the company that was bought back from The Prudential by Paul Rooney back in 1991.

David was sold, and the two immediately rolled up their sleeves and got to work in rebranding the company with the sole mission of making people take notice of what he describes as “the true Wards”.

“I had agreed with quite a lot of the observations he had made,” recalled David sitting alongside Steve in his Faversham office.

“Initially and painstakingly, we went through tens of alternatives of a signature brand to come up with what we have today. We then decided to look at everything.

“We know that we’ve got an excellent business. But what Steve has done is add professionalism to our marketing and to other elements of our business which we didn’t do to the standard I would have liked in the past.”

Some of those changes include completely new for sale boards, facelifts to the offices plus an overhaul of the website and Wards’ overall social media image and engagement. added Steve, whose initial perception of Wards was that the brand had been quite corporate in what it was saying.

He later realised that they were in fact quite the opposite.

“They’re actually really friendly as well as being a local, premium agent that’s also up-to-date and forward thinking.”

“We’re not trying to make Wards look like something its not. In fact during the last 12 months, we’ve been working towards making it look like the brand they truly are.” David is the first to admit that what Wards actually is and how it was being perceived had been quite different.

But that will all change now with the rebranding of the Kent-based company that is the No.1 agent for market share in more than half of their 42 offices throughout the county

When it comes to a wealth of experience, Wards also gets top billing. Three of the directors at Wards have over a combined 100 years of experience at the company, dating back to the days of Ward & Partners before the 1986 takeover by The Prudential.

There are also hugely popular initiatives such as the Cash Back for sellers who cannot sell their properties on line. Wards will pay those sellers who have chosen an online agent up to £1,000 of the cost that they have already paid out up front - money they would have otherwise wasted. They receive the cash back once the property is sold.

“We aim to put more money in the pocket of our customers even though they might by charged a slightly higher commission,” adds David.

“The most important thing is achieving the very best price for your property”. Wards also plays an active role within many local communities in the county thanks to its support of various charities

The biggest of these is the annual Wards Children’s Awards where the company recognises Kent children who have overcome incredible adversity. Wards has always prided itself on working harder for the seller in a bid to Testament to this is the fact that Wards has achieved full asking price on close to 50% of its completions in the fourth quarter of 2018.

“The public should expect a more visible Wards in 2019,” David continued.

“They’ll be new boards, new faces, new advertising, buses and television commercials”.

Fuelled by the digital age, marketing has become a fastmoving and ever-changing landscape for companies, especially in the last decade.

And following the move to strike up a partnership with FINALLY, Wards has certainly wasted no time in keeping up with the times.